


A truth disguised as a lie.

by mordredllewelynjones



Series: Nygmobblepot week 2018 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Cute, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Nygmobblepot Week 2018, One-Shot, Oneshot, nygmobblepot week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 16:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14000283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mordredllewelynjones/pseuds/mordredllewelynjones
Summary: A short Nygmobblepot fic for Tumblr Nygmobblepot week 2018. Day 1 prompt: Fake date/marriage.Set during season 3.To help Penguin cement his position as the ruler and mayor of Gotham Edward Nygma suggests a 'purely business' arrangement guaranteed to get him the support he needs.I've never written this trope before and I ran out of time so this could be... interesting.No sex or rude stuff in this story.Thank you to the members of the AO3 readers and writers facebook page for all their ideas, suggestions and help.





	A truth disguised as a lie.

 

It started simple enough.

"Morning Ed" Oswald mumbled sleepily as his best friend sat himself down at the breakfast table. "Good morning Oswald. I trust the meeting with the leaders of the crime families went well" Edward replied cheerfully. Whether it was the lack of constant hangovers or whether Ed was naturally a morning person Oswald couldn't tell, either way his hopefully soon to be chief of staff was always up and about long before he was. Yet he still took the time to sit down with Oswald and have breakfast almost every morning which was a kindness that did not go unappreciated. It was nice to have someone to talk to. "It was a total disaster" Oswald groaned, taking a swig of tea. Ed grimaced sympathetically then leant forwards expectantly, eagerly awaiting the rest of the story. There was a pause and Penguin sighed heavily. 

"You'd think that after everything I've done, toppling Falcone, Fish and Maroni single-handed, the criminal classes would show me some respect. Well one thing's for sure my friend, the last thing I felt during that meeting was respect" he burst out furiously. "Anyone who doesn't respect you is an idiot" Ed assured him. How anyone could fail to appreciate the brilliance of the man sat opposite him was a mystery Ed had so far been unable to solve. "You can say that again" Penguin grumbled, glaring at his croissant as though it to had personally offended him. "That wasn't an invitation by the way" he added hastily as Edward opened his mouth. Ed's face fell slightly and he remained silent. There was a pause and then finally, unable to contain his anger, Oswald continued.

"What gets me the most is the pathetic excuse they are using to try and push me out. It's ridiculous."

"Ooh, do tell."

"They are saying that only a member of a true crime family can rule Gotham. That because I'm alone I don't have the strength that it takes to lead. If anything it's the opposite in my opinion. These crime families have a terrible habit of stabbing each other in the back. You and I on the other hand have a friendship built on trust and loyalty which is more than they will ever have. Unfortunately good friends are not enough to satisfy the entry requirements. They respect blood, and blood alone" Oswald finished bitterly.  "Hmm, I can see the problem" Edward muttered, resting his chin on his hands "It's going to be hard to find a way to please them. Of course, we do have the ability and the means to force them to yield but the last thing we need right now is unnecessary unpleasantries. Not with your election approaching. We need to keep your image as free from criminal activity as possible so a safer and less conspicuous manipulation would be preferable."

"Now that's another thing that has been bothering me, this whole mayor business" Penguin grumbled. Ed gaped at him in confusion. "Why?!" he gasped "I thought you wanted to be mayor." "Oh I do" Penguin assured him "I'm just beginning to think that this campaign might be more trouble than it's worth. Do you honestly think even if we pay of every one we possibly can we'll be able to secure a victory by simply riding on the success of that business with the Indian Hill monsters?" Ed's mouth had become a thin line of angry disapproval yet he remained mute. He had made his views on buying off voters quite clear before but as of yet he had failed to get his friend to reconsider that particular decision. Never the less, he had to admit that Oswald had a point. Although their numbers in the pre-election polls were good they were not enough to guaranty a win. They were going to have to step up their game somehow.

Then all of a sudden an idea popped into his head. It was risky and unorthodox to be sure but it could be just what they were looking for. The question was, would Penguin agree to it? "Leave it to me Oswald" he said with a confident smile "I promise that by dinner time I will have found a way out of our current predicament." Oswald beamed back at him. "Thank you my friend. It's such a welcome change to have someone one whom I can thoroughly rely" he replied warmly. The matter thus settled satisfactorily, Edward began double checking the schedule for the coming day whilst Oswald continued his breakfast in decidedly happier spirits than when he had started.

 

*****************************************************************

"Ta da" Ed practically sang as he placed the object on the table, gesturing to it proudly and doing jazz hands. Penguin raised an eyebrow as he stared at doubtfully. "It's a box" he stated blandly. "You have to open it" Edward said eagerly. Rolling his eyes Penguin grudgingly obliged. Inside was a beautiful engagement ring set with amethyst and black diamond. Oswald stared at it, transfixed, as Ed grinned at him.  "We're getting married!" Ed cried excitedly.

"I've been thinking about it all day and it's the perfect solution to our problems. The leaders of the crime families will be forced to take you seriously, by their 'rules' family related by marriage still count. With 'proper' support behind you, argument wise they wont have a leg to stand on, figuratively speaking. It should also work wonders for your mayoral campaign. It will show the people of Gotham that you are more than a monster fighting 'former' criminal. That you are a person with thoughts and feelings too, someone they can identify with. Plus it will provide great PR, Gotham's first openly LGBT+ mayor. It's certain to get you tons of support and the great thing about it is that it's a perfectly harmless. A manipulation that no one will be any the wiser to and even if someone did find out we technically won't have done anything wrong so there's nothing they can do about it.  So anyway, I've put a small announcement in the Gotham Gazette. It'll be enough to grab peoples attention without it seeming like we are making too big a deal of it. So, what do you think of the plan? Isn't neat?!"

It's brilliant, Oswald wanted to say. It was too. It solved all their problems in one simple and effortless stroke. The plan was perfect and there was no logical reason for Oswald to object to it. So why was he unable to congratulate Ed on his clever idea? Why did looking at the innocent little ring fill him with sadness?

Ed's face crumpled with disappointment as he waited for a response that seemed as though it was never going to come. He had felt so sure that Oswald would be pleased or at least impressed. He inwardly cursed himself, he was such a fool. "I'm sorry Oswald" he said quietly "I got too ahead of myself. I guess I was just so focussed on solving the problem that I forgot to factor in the emotional side of things. I should have realised sooner that this wasn't going to work. I mean, who on earth would want to marry me?"

Oswald stared at Ed dismayed, the devistating sincerity in Edward's voice broke Oswald's heart. He was annoying to be sure, overly enthusiastic about the strangest of things and his attitude to murder was as worrying as it was thrilling but Ed was without a doubt the most brilliant man Penguin had ever met. How he could speak so negatively about himself was astounding. "Don't be ridiculous" Oswald told him forcefully "anyone would be lucky to have you as a husband. You are the most ingenious and wonderful person I have ever met and I think that anyone who fails to appreciate you must be a fool." Face bright red Edward flashed his friend a small, grateful smile. Penguin took a deep breath and forced himself to continue.

"As for the plan, I think it's a great idea. I have no doubt that everything will work out exactly as you say. That being the case, you can definitely count me in."

It was amazing what a difference that small sentence brought about. The sadness and uncertainty in Edward's eyes vanished instantly, to be replaced by almost giddy excitement. "I'm so glad you like it" he beamed. Caught up in the moment he removed the engagement ring from it's box, knelt down and slipped it onto Oswald's finger as the other man gaped at him in both confusion and unexplainable delight. "Well I had best start making arrangements" Ed said, nodding in a satisfied sort of way "I'm afraid I will probably have to skip the rest of dinner." "Of course" Penguin replied with a good natured smile "I expected as much. Go ahead. Thank you for your help my friend."

Slowly the adrenalin from all the nerves and excitement began to wear off and Oswald spent the remainder of the meal thinking the whole thing over, examining his own feelings. It was strange. This whole thing was strictly business yet it felt like the total opposite. Extreme happiness and intense sadness filled Oswald in equal measure but he didn't know why. Abandoning his food he picked up an open wine bottle and sat himself down on the sofa.

He had never expected to get married. He had given up on the idea of ever finding someone who loved him long ago and the possibility of a loveless marriage had never even crossed his mind. Even if it had he doubted he would ever have considered it as a future possibility. He never would have imagined finding himself in a situation that deemed such an action necessary or banked on finding someone he trusted enough to enter into such a sensitive agreement with. That was it surely, the reason behind his mixed emotions. Deep down though he knew that wasn't the case.

Then it suddenly hit him. He wanted it to be real. He wanted that clever, adorable and dangerous man to be his and for he himself to belong to Ed in return. He was in love with Edward Nygma. Oswald laughed shakily at the realisation. He didn't know how he hadn't seen it before. The way it brightened his day to see Ed happy or excited about some knew riddle he'd come up with or interesting fact he had discovered. How much it hurt to see Edward upset or to hear him arguing with himself in the mirror and not being able to do anything to help. It all made sense. Oswald had known early on that Ed made him feel things that he had never felt before, he had simply never taken the time to identify those feelings and realise that what he was feeling was love.

Now however, he was presented with a problem. Penguin knew that the right thing to do would be to call off the engagement immediately. After all, Ed had never signed up for this. To lie to him, pretend that he had no feelings for him when that wasn't the case, wasn't fair or right. He would go and tell Edward the truth right now.

As he went to get out of his seat however, he caught a glimpse of the gorgeous engagement ring on his finger and felt a lump in his throat. This ring represented everything he'd ever truly wanted but could never have. What was power if you had no one to share it with? Edward would never love him back though. How could he? Oswald sighed, running his fingers through his hair. It was a beautiful lie though. If he tried he could easily convince himself that it was real, that Ed did love him back. That he wasn't alone anymore. Even though he knew he shouldn't he just couldn't bring himself to let that feeling go, not yet. So against his better judgement Penguin decided not to say anything about his feelings to Ed, not tonight anyway. He would tell him first thing in the morning but he just wanted to cling to his imagined happiness for one night. That was all.

 

*********************************************

That wasn't how things worked out however. No matter how hard he tried the next day he couldn't force himself to say anything. He would tell Ed tomorrow, Oswald swore to himself every day, yet the weeks quickly went by and still he hadn't said a word.  

As a plan, a tactical manipulation, their engagement worked just as well as Ed predicted. The crime families had been forced to yield  and had grudgingly accepted him as the true king of Gotham where as his popularity in the pre-election polls had soared the instant the marriage plans had been announced. Not that Oswald really took the time to notice, the actual 'engagement' was enough to keep him occupied.

When Edward had first pitched the idea to him Oswald had assumed it would be little more than just an announcement in the newspapers and a few short, vague interviews at the most. A few pretty words to deceive the public and little else. What he hadn't expected was how committed Ed was to making sure that the illusion they were trying to sell looked believable. Candle lit dinners at the finest restaurants in town, holding hands and fond smiles. It all seemed so beautifully sincere. Oswald knew it was wrong and selfish to keep his feelings hidden from his friend and it troubled him every waking moment. However, as soon Ed linked their arms together as they walked along or told a member of the press how delighted he was that Oswald had accepted his offer of marriage, Oswald found himself falling for his friend all over again which in some ways made it all the more harder to try and force himself to put a stop to the plan before things got out of hand. He was losing control, of both his emotions and the situation at hand.

Winning the election had seemed like the perfect way out of their current, and unknown to Ed, predicament. They had achieved what they had set out to do after all. With his position as the ruler of Gotham secure it seemed like the natural time for an 'amiable split.' The engagement was no longer necessary, time to cast it aside and go back to the way things had been before. However, the subject was never brought up. Ed seemed intent to continue the arrangement, seemingly putting more effort into maintaining the picture of a happy couple than he had before. What his reasons were Penguin wasn't sure and it was this that he was pondering as the car pulled up outside of the Gotham City Museum.

The car door opened and Ed beamed downed at him. "Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm. Accepting the gesture Oswald allowed Edward to assist him and they made their way towards the museum. The place was due to reopen tomorrow after being closed for an extensive refurbishment however Ed, already well practiced in using the power of the Mayor's office to its fullest, had arranged an early viewing. No press, no public, no staff. Just the two of them.

Museums weren't really Oswald's thing but it was worth it to see Edward so happy and excited. The poor man must feel absolutely stifled most of the time. Ed rambled on about the various exhibits, seeming to be an expert in each and every one regardless on whether it was scientific or historical. Oswald nodded, commenting occasionally when it felt as though Ed needed something to bounce off, but most of the time he kept quiet. Edward was the sort of person who desperately needed attention and appreciation which, sadly, was hard to come by in Gotham. Oswald knew his friend well though so at times like this he simply let Ed talk, making it his business to make sure that the man he loved felt valued. It was the least he could do, he owed Ed for so much after all.

Time slowed to a crawl, every moment they spent enjoying each others company feeling like eternity. Gradually the talk died down and was replaced by a comfortable silence. Then, all of a sudden, as they were glancing over an ancient Egyptian tablet, Oswald felt arms wrap around him gently as Ed hugged him from behind, burying his face in Oswald's hair and breathing deeply. Taken aback and rendered speechless, and so unable to voice his confusion, Oswald simply lent instinctively into the touch. Relaxing into this beautiful, yet bewildering moment, Oswald closed his eyes and carefully entwined his fingers with Ed's, enjoying the warmth of the embrace.

Then, as mysteriously as it had started the moment passed and before Penguin had even turned to see Edward's face he felt the atmosphere in the room change. Before things had felt relaxed and comfortable, now there was a nervous tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. He swallowed as a feeling of dread washed over him. "Umm, Oswald. There is something I need to tell you" Ed muttered, his hands flitting about anxiously. Penguin's heart sank as panic gripped him. Was Ed about to tell him that he felt the same way, that he loved Oswald just as much as Oswald loved him? Given the circumstances it was a logical assumption. Oswald couldn't believe it though. Perhaps Edward had guessed at his feelings and the actions just now had simply been a test to see if he was correct. What if he planned to sever ties with Oswald now that he knew the truth or even use what he knew to gain power over Oswald some how? "I haven't exactly been honest with you" Ed said, running his fingers through his hair. Oswald clenched his fists and braced himself as he waited for the penny to drop. "You were saying" he prompted coldly when Ed failed to elaborate. Voice shaking, Edward continued.

"Ahh yes. Umm. Well, let's just say that I may not have been entirely honest about our engagement. Yes, I did suggest it as way to solve out problems but the fact is that there were other roads we could have gone down that I didn't tell you about. Plans that would have been more effective or discrete.  I knew though that it would be the only way I'd ever be able to be with you like this, as though we were 'together.' I knew that you could never reciprocate my feelings for you but I just wanted to know what it would feel like and it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. I never intended for it to get this far, I was going to end it as soon as you won the election but I just couldn't do it. I was such a fool, a part of me even expected you to love me back if we just kept the charade going on for long enough, that you'd learn to love me! As if that would ever happen, the chances of that are like a thousand to one. Please accept my sincerest apologise. Rest assured, you will find my letter of resignation on your desk as soon as a suitable substitute can be found."

Turning on his heel dramatically Edward began to walk away, leaving Oswald reeling.  "Ed, wait!" he bellowed after him. Ed stopped obediently and waited anxiously for Oswald to catch up with him. "What?" Edward asked fearfully. Oswald chuckled then said fondly "You've made a dreadful mistake in your calculations Ed." Ed stared at him blankly. "I haven't been honest with you either" Oswald admitted with an amused smile "I meant to be. Every second since this things started I've been meaning to tell you the truth. The fact is that I just couldn't make myself admit to you just how much I wanted your proposal to be genuine." Eyes widening in sudden comprehension Ed beamed down at his friend. "It's real if you want it to be" he told him happily. Oswald nodded eagerly. "I love you Ed" he murmured lovingly. "I love you too Oswald" Ed whispered as he cupped Penguin's chin with his hand and ducked down.

Their lips met, barely touching but it was enough. They broke apart momentarily, gazing into each others eyes delightedly, before closing the gap between them once more. Oswald gently pushed Edward's glasses up so that they rested on the mans forehead whilst resting a trembling hand on top of the one Ed had resting tenderly on Oswald's cheek. Ed put his arm around Oswald's waist and gently pulled him closer as he deepened the kiss, the contented hum Oswald made in response causing him to smile against his fiancée's  lips.

"Well Ed, I certainly hope you've got some emergency wedding plans hidden in that big brain of yours. Other wise this could turn out to be quite a long engagement" Oswald teased as he took a step back, grasping Ed by the hand and beaming. "Well now that you mention it..." Ed replied with a playful smirk as he returned his glasses to their former perch. They both laughed. Then, arm in arm they set off towards the museum exit. A celebratory meal was obviously long over due.

                                                                                 The End.


End file.
